Acceptance
by AwakeningEden
Summary: Jaime has a hard time fitting into the mold of the team and pinpoints his frustrations on the standout demigoddess. I present to you the first WonderBeetle fanfic! Jaime/Cassie Blue Beetle/Wonder Girl
1. Everything She Is

It started out as envy.

Jaime was of slim build: 140 pounds and barely inching over 5'7. He didn't have the most endurance, wasn't the most intelligent, didn't have the best strategies, lacked a sense of humor, and definitely was not the strongest.

It didn't help that everybody on the team thought he was a schizophrenic.

Most of the team had either been born with their talents or acquired through means of their own. Everyone on the team wanted to be here. Everyone except him.

It was all a stroke of misfortune that Jaime decided to pick up the stupid scarab and it latched itself onto his back like the parasite it was. All a big headache when the "World's Greatest Heroes" came knocking on his door, informing of his newfound powers and his duty to the world. That he was some legacy and needed to honor the death of his predecessor.

He was brought in the same time as _her._

She was taller than him and three times as muscle-bound. She was smart, perky, fun, made quick friends with the rest of the team, _and_ she wanted to be there.

Also didn't talk to herself. That was probably another plus.

Cassie Sandsmark was everything Jaime Reyes was not. And it ate away at him. He spent most of his free time locked up in his room asleep. It was the only way to stop the persistent chatter of the AI and the ringing of her annoying laugh as she told another story about her demi-god father Zeus while the rest of the team listened.

He wanted to be normal. He wanted to go home. He didn't belong here.

However, it only took one night to change his opinion of his place in the superhero world. To change his opinion of _her_.

It was in the early morning hours on a typical weekend when Jaime woke up starving. He had skipped dinner the last few nights in a row and now was paying the price.

_We require vast quantities of nutrients, preferably Vitamin A, C, D, Calcium, and Iron_ the AI stated in its typical monotone fashion, repeating it over and over inside Jaime's head.

"Alright, alright!" Jaime screamed at the AI, throwing off the covers and racing towards the kitchen. "_Callate_, you stupid thing!"

So focused on his frustrations, Jaime didn't hear the approaching footsteps as they followed after him.

"Stop right there, Garfield!" Jaime whipped his head around, glad the glare he was throwing back at _her_ couldn't be seen by the nitwit behind him. "You know you're not supposed to visit the kitchen after midnight!"

Jaime didn't dignify her with a response. He turned his head forward and continued walking towards the kitchen. Was he so small and puny that he could easily be mistaken for a boy two years his junior?

"Oh, you're asking for it this time!" she huffed and within a matter of moments, Jaime was thrown to the ground, his arms pinned by her strong, nimble fingers.

"What'cha gonna do now, huh Garfield?" her face was close enough that he could see the whites of her eyes and the arch of her button-nose. He was disgusted to think that on top of all her other talents, she had to be drop dead gorgeous.

"_No se_, Cassie," Jaime almost spat in her face. "How about you stop calling me Garfield?"

Her eyes widened and she bounced off of Jaime as quickly as she had pinned him. "Oh, I'm sorry Jaime! I thought you were Garfield!"

"Yeah, I noticed," he grumbled as he stood up and continued down the hall.

He let out involuntary growl when he realized she was following him. _And talking._

"It's just that Garfield has been late-night snack binging this past month and we want him to be healthy, you know? And, well, it's dark and you're usually never out of your room so I just thought it was Garfield trying to sneak into the kitchen again and I'm sorry I -"

"Are you done?" he snapped at her as he turned the light on the kitchen, revealing her form to him. She wore a black T-shirt that traveled to her mid-thigh and fluffy pink slippers. He was surprised at the frown she wore on her face. Jaime was sure he had never seen that before.

"Well, um…" she looked around the kitchen. "What are you going to do?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Jaime crossed the room towards the refrigerator. "I'm hungry and I want to eat."

"Oh," her voice was distant, so different from its usual rambunctious quality. "I see…there's some leftovers from tonight's dinners in the fridge."

He opened the refrigerator door and noticed a large container of spaghetti and meatballs, with a smaller box of garlic bread to the right of it.

_High in carbohydrates, protein, and iron. Lacking sufficient amounts of Vitamin C and Calcium. Orange juice would be beneficial_, the AI reported.

"Like I didn't know that already," he said as he took out the food and looked for a big enough plate. "I have been living for the past sixteen years, you know."

_To reach full potential, proper food intake will be required. Height and muscle mass are beneficial in close combat, a skill that has not been acquired._

"Oh, so you're going to jump on the bandwagon and say I'm too small too?" Jaime plopped a big scoopful of spaghetti on his plate and placed two pieces of garlic bread on either side. "Look, I eat as well as I can - "

The AI continued to speak as he placed the food in the microwave. _Skipping meals does not contribute well to health. Not compatible with the amount of strain on the body when engaged in combat._

"Just shut up and let me eat in peace, you son of a - "

"Jaime, are you okay?" His eyes widened and his mouth sewed shut. He had forgotten she was there…

Jaime turned around to meet her gaze, her blue eyes soft with worry. Well, that was that. She would confirm to the rest of them that he was crazy. There would be no chance for an explanation, no chance of redemption. Cassie was the golden girl. Whatever she said, went.

"Jaime…" she walked over to him and he almost shuddered as she placed her hand on top of his clothed shoulder. "If it's not too personal, may I ask who you're talking to? I'd like to know."

"…Let me grab some orange juice, first," he brushed her shoulder off and took a glass from the cupboard. Life couldn't get any worse when you had to explain yourself to someone you loathed because you didn't want to be put in a loony bin.

So he drank and explained. Explained and drank. How he got the scarab. The technology behind it. The AI and how it intersected whenever it wanted to. Cassie stood and listened, keeping quiet when he took a bite of food.

"And that's why I talk to myself," Jaime finished, taking a hearty rip out the garlic bread.

"That's actually…" she started, her gaze trailing across the floor.

"What? Creepy? Crazy?" Jaime offered as he gulped down another swig of orange juice. "Repulsive? Susp -"

"Cool," she blurted out, a large smile engulfing her face. "That's pretty cool!"

"Um…" Jaime blinked a few times, taking in the way her blue eyes shined in the florescent light. "_Como?_"

"That's amazing that you have that kind of ability with your armor!" she moved towards him and unexpectedly placed her hands over his. "You communicate with the technology you use in combat! It helps you find the weak spots, identifies their strengths, what will work and what won't. It's almost like divine intervention! It's like my half-brother Hercules. I've been told he had ways to communicate with my father during his battles. And Odysseus always had Athena on his side. This is so cool, Jaime! Wait until I tell Barbara, she's going to love it since she's all into that…"

She continued on and on but Jaime could no longer focus on the words. All his attention steered towards the warmth of her hand enveloping his. The way she leaned towards him, her bright eyes just inches away. The way she seemed so comfortable in his presence and that it didn't matter that he had been a jerk to her just few minutes before.

_She accepted him._

"I'm so happy to have a friend like you, Jaime!" she said as they made their way back to their respective rooms. "You have to let me in on the conversations sometimes. I'd love to hear what the AI has to say."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed as they reached his door. "That sounds like fun…"

"Soooo," Cassie giggled as she hovered a few inches off the ground. "I was wondering if you would like to help me and Babs out with some data collecting tomorrow. It's going to be on the beach and should be tons of fun!"

"Um, I'm not -" he turned to see her face an inch from his, their noses close to grazing. His heart skipped a beat and he was suddenly so confused. He envied Cassie. He didn't like Cassie. Cassie was everything he was not. Cassie was -

A quick peck on the cheek and he immediately replied, "I'll be there."

She giggled again, "Good."

Cassie floated a few feet down the hall before she gave him a quick little wave. "Good night, Jaime. Sweet dreams."

"N-night, Cassie," he waved back as she turned around and flew out of sight.

_Detections of escalated heartrate and increase in temperature. Searching for infection._

"It's not an infection," he told the AI as he crawled into bed, the feel of Cassie's lips still lingering on his cheek.

"It's infatuation."

After that day, Jamie focused on the team. Talked to the others. Enjoyed their company, especially Tim and Lagoon Boy's. While there were still some like Mal and Superboy that glanced at him whenever he communicated with the AI, all it took was a quick wink from Cassie to reassure him that he had a place on the team. That he belonged there and he was welcomed.

That he was just every bit of a hero as they were.

"Hey!" Cassie's bright eyes caught his, her lips fixed in a pout. "You're growing! You're almost as tall as me!"

"Oh?" he crooked his eyebrows and stood up straight. She was right; he was only a half-an-inch or so away from her eye level.

"Well, I have been eating right," he grinned as he flexed his arms. While still nowhere near her volume, he was getting stronger and light on his feet. "Why? Afraid of a little competition?"

"No…" she gave him a coy smile and she trailed off, making her way to the exit portal. "I just like my men a little shorter."

It took him a few moments to pick up on her flirtation and she was already outside by the time he understood.

But boy, he was out the portal faster than Kid Flash and praying she didn't feel like playing cat-and-mouse.

Because he was always the mouse.

0808080

**CI:** Why are there still no tags for Jaime and Cassie? It's been a month, ... Get you act together!

Also, hope you enjoyed! Expect more of these two in the future~


	2. Everything He Is

Cassie didn't know how to explain it, but whatever he was doing, she didn't want him to stop.

Maybe it was the way he laughed, hearty and _heartfelt._ So rare to hear that she cherished it every time it rang in her ears; bottled up the sound to enjoy another time when he would sulk or glare or scoff.

Maybe it was the way he seemed lost. How he cringed whenever the scarab on his back would oppose his morality. How he looked so ashamed when Connor or Mal or Tim would quirk their eyebrows at the arguments going on inside his head.

Or maybe it was the way he held out his hand for her when he knew he didn't have to. When he knew she could easily carry them both and fly up to the rooftop. When he knew that's what she wanted but for the sake of the mission she needed to keep quiet and gather intelligence first, kick ass later.

Perhaps it was because he had not been born great like she or Connor. Had not achieved greatness like Dick or Barbara, Karen or Mal.

He had had greatness thrust upon him and used it for the greater good. Controlled the urges of the over-rational and zealous scarab and committed it to serve him to protect the Earth and his friends. Didn't let the moment his life changed to astronomical levels affect him in ways it would others. He genuinely wanted to help people even if he would rather be doing it by more normal means. Fate had chosen to bestow him with a greater purpose and he had taken it by the reigns, regardless of the scrutiny he faced from his fellow comrades.

Cassie saw this and she had never liked someone so much because of it.

She had been born great: the daughter of a famous architect and an immortal being from another dimension, who Greek mythology called Zeus. She had the intelligence, the zeal, the strength, the endurance to be something from birth. To use her talents and protect her family and the world she loved.

But unlike him, she never had a choice to be anything other than great.

It was selfish for her, cruel even, to think about what she would be without her powers. What would she be without her father's demigod abilities, the lasso Diana had given her on her thirteenth birthday, or all the knowledge her mother had engraved into her?

Nothing. Nothing but a pretty face with a bubbly personality.

She had been sheltered while he went against the winds of the world. She had been locked safe inside the white walls of Amazonian architecture while he had faced prejudice, poverty, discrimination, broken families and misguided friendships. She was in the world while he was of it.

In her eyes, he would always be the better hero; it was so much easier for him to understand. He could relate to those they saved from prejudice and tyranny while she would stumble on words of encouragement, trying to tell a kidnapped child that everything would be okay when she wasn't sure if it would be. He knew what to say to make them smile and laugh.

It should have made Cassie jealous. It should have distanced her from him. They were from two very different worlds with so little common ground. How could she ever understand him, or him her?

But she wasn't jealous or distant. Not at all.

Instead, she fancied she was infatuated with Jaime Reyes. And it thrilled and frightened her all the more.

And here she was, racing outside of Mount Justice because she just kind of sort of confessed she liked him. Sure, she thought he might like her too but it wasn't the same as the fantasies she concocted in her head. This was real and so much different from the first time she realized her feelings for him, months ago when she mistook him for her little Garfield. Back then, they weren't even friends. Now they were and she might have ruined it.

"Cassie! Wait up!" she heard Jaime call out from behind her. She groaned when she noticed he was chasing after her in his shiny blue armor. It would be a lot easier to run away from Jaime if he couldn't fly…

"_Ay dios mio_, Cassie! You don't run away after saying something like that!" Jaime seemed to be a little irritated now and she turned to face his steadily approaching form. He was looking over his shoulder and she could just catch the sneer forming on his lips. Thankfully, she knew it wasn't directed at her.

"No, I will not use _that_ to catch her. She's my teammate, not some criminal!" She was a little ashamed to admit it, but Cassie found Jaime's arguments with the scarab…_cute. _It only demonstrated what he had to put up with in order to make the world the better place.

_And, _she grinned as the thought occurred, _how committed he is to get to me._

Cassie realized she had stopped her flight and decided to wait until Jaime caught up. He did deserve to tell her how he felt about all of this.

"_Finalmente_, you were going so _rapido _right now!" Jaime stopped a few feet in front of her. "I thought I would have to go in overdrive soon."

"Would the scarab have let you?" Cassie crossed her arms, trying to ease into the subject at hand.

"Yeah, I think so," Jaime lifted an arm and scratched the back of his head, his orange eyes cast down towards the forest scenery below."So…um…"

Nervous giggles escaped Cassie as she tightened the hold on her waist."So…um…yeah, that sounds about right."

"Do you have anything to do soon?" Jaime asked. "If not, we could go sit on the beach and…talk there."

_Beach…_Cassie hoped the warmth spreading against her cheeks wasn't visible in the approaching sunset. One of her fantasies with Jaime had involved a beach…

"No, I don't. The beach would be nice," Cassie smiled and they flew towards the white sand and orange waves. Her heart started to flutter and she chewed her lips. What if he said he didn't like her like that? What if he just wanted to be her friend? What if he _did _like her like that? What if he wanted to go out on a date, like seeing that new movie to the end of the Hunger-something trilogy? What if he wanted to kiss? What if

"Yo, Cassie?" she felt Jaime's gloved hand encircle her wrist and pull her towards him. "You got away from me for a moment. We're here."

Cassie looked down to see the beach bathed in the tangerine sunset hanging over the ocean. She was almost inclined to talk about how pretty and romantic it was but she stopped herself before the words escaped her. She didn't want to make this more awkward for Jaime then it already was.

They descended onto the sand and Jaime retracted the armor into the scarab. It was nice to see his black hair ruffle in the wind and his brown eyes shy away from her direction. While she liked the scarab because it allowed Jaime to be _Jaime_, she wanted it to be just the two of them in this moment, for however long the moment lasted.

Cassie kicked off her sandals and beckoned Jaime to sit next to her. Jaime nodded and took off his shoes and socks. Plopping next to her, Cassie's breath hitched as she felt his fingers press against hers.

He left them there.

"You sure picked a nice time to tell me you had a thing for short guys," Cassie looked up and watched as Jaime gazed at the rolling orange waves crashing into the sand. The water just grazed their toes and Cassie shivered at the unexpected chill.

"Oh, I see what you're doing here," he turned his head and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Hmm? Cassie cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not doing anything."

"You shivered," Jaime stated as he unzipped his jacket. "You're doing the old 'I'm cold and I want you to hold me closer trick."

"What? Cassie exclaimed as she raised her arms and shook her hands in front of her face. "No, the water was just a little cold. Don't worry, I'm"

She was silenced as Jaime draped half of his jacket over her body and closed the gap between them. He took her hand into his and rested both of them on his knee. They hadn't been this close since the time she kissed his cheek in the hallway. She had been in control of the situation then.

"There, that's better," he smiled at her and his brown eyes seemed to soften. "Cassie, I need to ask you something."

"Uh, sure," Cassie felt dumb for saying uh. Geez, could she be any more obvious?

"Why me?"

Her eyes widened as she continued to stare into his brown ones. He wanted to know why?

"Why do you want to know?" Cassie countered, squeezing his hand for encouragement.

Jaime sighed and closed his eyes. "You're pretty much perfect Cassie. You're strong, smart, funny, kind…not to mention _muy bonita. _You could have any guy in the world but you decided to like someone like _me_. And I'm not…not…"

"Normal? Cassie finished for him.

"Yes! See, even you notice how weird I am!" Jaime pressed in closer, apparently trying to get his point across. "You're an actual demigoddess and I'm…just some kid who was in the wrong place at the right time."

"Jaime, Cassie started, doing all she could to not back away from the intensity of his gaze. "If you haven't noticed, we're all really weird here. But I think out of all of us, you're probably the one with the words 'hero' tattooed onto your heart."

It was Jaime's turn to look confused, his lips almost forming into a pout. "I'm not sure I catch your drift."

"You're the only one who wasn't born or made great, Jaime," Cassie felt a certain passion rise within her, similar to the night Jaime initially told her about the scarab and the AI technology. "You're not like Connor or me or Megan, who have had all these powers from the beginning and you're not like Babs or Karen or Dick who have accumulated really neat skills over all their lives"

Jaime scoffed and turned from her. "Thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

"No, let me finish!" Cassie's voice rose and she grabbed onto Jaime's other hand. "You're the other kind of great, Jaime. The _special _kind of great. You know, the whole 'greatness thrust upon them people. Unlike us, you had no idea that your life was going to turn out like this. You're walking home one day and bam! A weird looking thing attaches itself to your back and you're flying around, covered in some blue suit that talks to you. But, you didn't hide from what you were chosen for. You stepped up and accepted it. Maybe not willingly at first, but you did because you knew it was your calling. It was something you had to do to protect those you loved. That's why you're so much more amazing than the rest of us, Jaime! That's why…I…

"That's why I like you so much."

Jaime met her eyes again. Face soft but passionate. Body relaxed but steady. And lips curled into a smile so faint she might have missed it if she didn't know him better.

A smile so faint that she lost her focus with just enough time for Jaime to lean in and kiss her.

Light and chaste. Soft and strong. Just like him.

Jaime leaned back and cupped his hand against her cheek, pressing his forehead into hers. "_Te quiero tambien, _Cassie."

Her heart skipped a beat at the confession and she breathed in his scent. "I like it when you speak Spanish."

"I'm glad," she felt him smile against the bridge of her nose. "I'd like to think saying 'I like you' sounds better in Spanish anyway."

Cassie giggled and she moved her head up to kiss him again. It was just as soft and strong as the first with just a tad less innocence. They would have plenty of time in the future to explore their feelings. Plenty of time to see how this could grow.

But for now, for that night, Cassie and Jaime stood safe under the cover of Jaime's jacket and talked as the sun sunk into the water and the stars sprinkled across the indigo sky. Cassie told Jaime the stories behind the constellations and Jaime spoke about his family camping trips and the way his sister lit up every time he told her a superhero story. They made plans to go out and watch that movie about the girl on fire and eat at an Italian joint that Cassie had been dying to try near her hometown. They even talked to the AI when it butted in on their conversations and Cassie laughed as Jaime argued to what she dubbed their "third wheel."

Cassie was glad she had taken the chance that night and listened to Jaime. It had led to such a wonderful and tranquil evening that she wouldn't have wanted any other way.

_Well, _Cassie beamed as Jaime started up another lively conversation with the AI and how it shouldn't talk to him when Cassie and he were involved in the act of 'kissing.' _Maybe just one more. _

And she pressed her lips against his.

To which the AI overreacted and tried to annihilate Cassie through its canon.

Yep. She wouldn't want it any other way.


End file.
